ZBrush Divide Greyed Out or Subdivision Levels Missing
Cannot add or lose subdivision levels
Also known as: ZBrush divide not working · ZBrush subdivision levels gone · ZBrush Dynamesh no subdivision · ZBrush Smt · ZBrush Divide button greyed · ZBrush lost subdivision levels
Quick answer
ZBrush cannot add subdivision levels while DynaMesh is switched on, so turn DynaMesh off before pressing Divide in the Geometry palette. Subdivision levels also disappear when the topology is rebuilt: DynaMesh and ZRemesher replace the mesh and remove the old levels. To get levels back, run ZRemesher on the mesh, then press Divide to build new levels, and use Project All to bring the detail from a copy.
How to fix it
Plan the workflow: block out with DynaMesh, build clean topology with ZRemesher, then subdivide and sculpt the details, keeping a copy of the high-detail version as a SubTool for projection. If the Divide button is greyed out, check that you have a polymesh, that no DynaMesh is active and that the mesh does not have too many polygons for your computer. Dynamic Subdivision can preview smoothing without adding levels.
